Like the song goes, "I want to wake up, in a city that never sleeps. And find I'm king of the hill. Top of the heap." I had never woken up in NYC before! I was certainly glad to be hosted in style to experience it: at the Conrad New York's Atrio. The hotel and its main dining venue is chic, sleek and modern.

Tamar Alexia Fleishman, Esq.

A freshly squeezed glass of juice is always impressive, even more so when the choices are orange, (red) grapefruit and carrot! You feel like you're getting a good dose of vitamins to start your day in a refreshing way.

Their coffee is served out of a French press, which generally is a way to extract more oils (and flavor) out of the coffee bean.

The restaurant has an open kitchen and open hearth. Atrio takes well-deserved pride in serving locally crafted ingredients: they're not just from "there," but the foods are top quality. Esposito sausages are excellent and tender -- perfectly seasoned and no gristly bits.

In NYC, I had to get a bagel with salmon and cream cheese, right? I mean, it's probably a city ordinance or something. That turned to be not some throwaway dish, though many others would be content to slop that together. Theirs was beautifully presented, with a fried slice of bagel and fried capers. The star of the dish is Catskills' smoked salmon.

An indulgent but fantastic dish is served in a cute cast-iron skillet: crispy corned beef, poached eggs, fingerling potatoes, sauerkraut and Gruyere fondue. For those of your arching an eyebrow, wondering if that works for breakfast, it works! Everything compliments each other in your mouth, adding tang, texture, richness.

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